Parentage: ‘RUYFEM1702’ is the result of a controlled cross-pollination breeding program carried out by the inventor at a commercial nursery in Oudenaarde, Belgium, in August of 2015. The inventor performed a controlled cross-pollination of the seed parent, Felicia amelloides ‘Alba’ (not patented), with an unnamed Felicia hyssopifolia seedling pollen parent (not patented). Seed from said cross was harvested, then germinated, and the resulting 80 seedlings were grown to a mature size in order to evaluate for desirable commercial characteristics. Five candidate plants which exhibited unique characteristics were initially isolated and, after further evaluation, the number of candidates was reduced to two. In May of 2016, the inventor selected the new Felicia cultivar from the remaining two candidates due to its large flowers and unique bloom habit. This new and distinctive cultivar was given the name ‘RUYFEM1702’.
Asexual Reproduction: Asexual reproduction of ‘RUYFEM1702’ was first accomplished in November of 2016 by rooting softwood stem cuttings at a commercial greenhouse in Heythuysen, the Netherlands. Two successive generations have shown that the unique features of the instant cultivar are stable and reproduce true to type.